Rail threader



Aug. 10, 1965 Filed Jan. 29, 1964 H. H. l- IOOKER RAIL THREADER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 6O INVENTOR.

HOWARD H. HOOKER ATT'Y RAIL THREADER m 41 W 72 m 5" N INVENTOR; so 76 HOWARD H. HOOKER United The present invention relates to railroad track laying and removal equipment and has particular reference to a rail threader for handling either long lengths of welded ribbon-type rails or appreciable lengths of bolted rail sections. In the laying of welded ribbonitype rails upon a roadbed, the current practice involves fabrication of the rails from standard rail sections in end-to-end fashion and in approximately quarter mile lengths by an oxyacetylene prc-ssure welding process or a flash but-t welding process and the transportation of the rails on a special train, the fiat cars of which are equipped with rollers which are arranged in tiers in order to permit the transportation of a large number of rails on a train. The rails are pulled onto the rollers where they are retained until they are unloaded, two at a time, on opposite sides of .an existing track on the ballast shoulders where they remain until required in the rail placement operation.

In order to guide the welded ribbon-type rails properly so they will fall progressively alongside the existing track as required, devices known as threaders are bolted to the leading fiatcar of the string of flatcars which comprises the special train and the rails are guided through the threaders and thus deposited on the shoulders. Threaders are also used in connection with overhead cranes during a subsequent operation when the rails are lifted from the ballast shoulders and set between the tie plates to their :final positions after the old bolted joint rails have been removed.

Heretofore, it has been the practice to-unbol-t the old rails at all of the joints, roll them to one side with crowbars, and later pick them up individually with a crane and load them onto gondola cars.

The improved r-ail threader comprising the present invention is capable of use in the manner of conventional threaders for handling continuous welded ribbon-type rails as outlined above and, sinceit is also capable of handling lengths of bolted rail sections, it makes possible the unbolting of old rails at approximately every quarter mile and the handling of the intervening long bolted rail se ciions in various ways. If desired, these bolted rail sections may be pulled from the tie plates and deposited on the ballast shoulder, or they may be pulled onto the same flatcars which were employed for depositing the new welded ribbonitype rails on the ballast shoulders. Conventional threaders currently in use are suitable for handling of lengths of welded ribbon-type rails but they are incapable of handling bolted rail sections due to interference with the projecting joint bars and bolts that are associated with the joints between abutting rail sections.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a novel form of rail threader which employs a series of ant-ifriction roller devices which are so disposed on the framework of the threader that they will otter no opposition or interference to passage of the bolts, joint bars or other extraneous devices which are associated with the joints of bolted rail sections and, moreover, will accommodate lengths of rails of varying sizes and shapes.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, not at this time enumerated, will readily suggest themselves as the following description ensues.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings forming atent O "ice a part of this specification, one illustrative embodiment of the invention has been shown.

'In these drawings:

'FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a track installation in the vicinity of the site of track laying operations, showing a crane-supported rail threader embodying the invention and in the process of removing a large length of bolted rail sections from a roadbed;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the improved rail threader device;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the threader; and

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIG. 1, a portion of a railroad track bed in which track rail removal is to be made is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10 and is provided with the usual transverse wooden ties 12 which are arranged in equidistantly spaced apart relationship along the roadbed. Conventional tie plates 14 are mounted on the ties 12 and are secured in position by suitable anchoring devices 15. In FIG. 1, one of the original track rails 18 consisting of standard short rail sections 20 in bolted together and end-to-end relationship is shown as remaining intact within its tie plates 14 while the other track rail 22 is undergoing the process of being removed from between its tie plates. Adjacent rail sections 20 consisting of standard thirty-nine foot lengths are connected together by the usual joint bars 25 and nut and bolt assemblies 27.

Removal of the rail 22 is accomplished by unbolting the short rail sections at approximately every quarter mile and then utilizing a traveling crane 23 and a threador 30 embodying the present invention to lift the long bolted rail lengths from the associated tie plates 14. The crane 2 8 is of conventional design and includes a crane body 32 which is supported on flanged track-engaging Wheels 34 and has the usual rotating deck 35. The crane cab 36 surmounts the deck and encloses the usual power plant (not shown). The crane boom 38 is pivoted by boom heels to the deck 35, and a sheave 37 at the outer or distal end of the boom supports the unial hoist line 39. A hold line 44 passes over a sheave 42 on the deck 35. The hoist and hold lines are wound upon respective drums which are independently operated by the usual clutch and brake mechanisms (also not shown).

During track removal operations, successive portions of each bolted rail length undergoing removal are supported or suspended from the tip of the crane boom 38 by means of the improved threader 3d. The latter is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings. This threader may be employed for effecting lateral shifting movements of the interconnected rail sections 20 in a progressive manner so as to lift the same from between tihe tie plates '14 and place the same on the ballast shoul- Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the threader 30 involves in its general organization a six-piece frame 50 which is of generally rectangular open cage-like design and comprises two vertical side members 52 and 54, two upper horizontal transverse members 56 and 53, and two lower horizontal transverse members 60 and 62. Each of the upper transverse members is in the form of two angle pieces 64 which are so cooperatively arranged (see FIG. 2) and welded together as to form a tubular open-ended structure, while the lower transverse members are in the form of single angle pieces having reinforcing gusset webs 66 therefor.

Short angle brackets 7% are supported on and fixedly connected to the ends of the lower transverse members do and 62 and the two opposed brackets on each lower member serve to support therebetween a horizontal lower tangular frame-like structure through which rails are adapted successively to pass during movement of the threa-der along a roadbed, said structure including a fixed vertical frame side section and an opposed movable frame gate section pivotal-1y mounted in the structure for movement between a vertical closed position and an inclined open position for admission of the rails sideways into the structure, a lower antifriction confining roller mounted on the structure for rotation about a horizontal axis and adapted to underlie and contact the bases of the rails and thus support the rails, and a composite upper roller including two normally coaxial roller sect-ions having downwardly and inwardly facing opposed fru'sto-conical rail-engaging surfaces thereon, means for rotatably mounting one of said roller sections on said frame side section, identical means for mounting the other roller section on said movable frame gate section, said means each comprising a fixed vertical toothed rack on the frame References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,559,703 7/51 Berg-man 214--1 3,120,819 2/ 64 Gammie 104-5 FOREIGN PATENTS 134,707 1/61 Russia.

EUGENE G. BOTZ, Primary Examiner. LEO QUACKENBUSH, Examiner. 

1. A RAIL TREADER COMPRISING AN ARTICULATED, OPEN GENERALLY RECTANGULAR, FRAME-LIKE STRUCTURE THROUGH WHICH RAILS ARE ADAPTED SUCCESSIVELY TO PASS DURING MOVEMENT OF THE THREADER ALONG A ROADBED, SAID STRUCTURE INCLUDING A FIXED, GENERALLY C-SHAPED SUPPORT INCLUDING UPPER AND LOWER FIXED HORIZONTAL TRANSVERSE FRAME SECTIONS AND AN INTERCONNECTING FIXED VERTICAL FRAME SIDE SECTION, A MOV ABLE FRAME GATE SECTION PIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT ONE END TO THE DISTAL END OF THE LOWER TRANSVERSE FRAME SECTION FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN A VERTICAL CLOSED POSITION WHEREIN ITS OTHER FREE END ENGAGES THE DISTAL END OF THE UPPER TRANSVERSE FRAME SECTION, AND AN INCLINED OPEN POSITION FOR ADMISSION OF THE RAILS SIDEWAYS INTO THE STRUCTURE, A PAIR OF LOWER ANTIFRICTION CONFINING ROLLERS SUPPORTED ON SAID LOWER TRANSVERSE FRAME SECTION FOR ROTATION ABOUT RESPECTIVE HORIZONTAL AXES AND ADAPTED TO UNDERLIE AND CONTACT THE BASES OF THE RAILS PAND THUS SUPPORT THE RAILS, A COMPOSITE UPPER ROLLER INCLUDING TWO NORMALLY COAXIAL ROLLER SECTIONS, ONE OF SAID ROLLER SECTIONS BEING ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FIXED FRAME SIDE SECTION NEAR THE UPPER END THEREOF AND THE OTHER ROLLER SECTION BEING ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID GATE SECTIONS NEAR THE FREE END THEREOF, SAID ROLLER SECTIONS, WHEN THE FRAME GATE SECTION NEAR THE FREE END THEREOF IS IN ITS CLOSED POSITION, BEING INDEPENDENTLY ROTATABLE ABOUT COMMON AXES SPACED UPWARDLY FROM AND PARALLEL TO THE AXES OF ROTATION OF THE LOWER ROLLERS, SAID OTHER ROLLER SECTION BEING MOVABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE ONE ROLLER SECTION DURING CLOSING AND OPENING MOVEMENTS OF SAID FRAME GATE SECTION RESPECTIVELY, AND MEANS FOR INDIVIDUALLY EFFECTING VERTICAL ADJUSTMENT OF SAID ROLLER SECTIONS. 